The courtyard is sunny, the air is warm, the water in the copper basin is warm by the sun, and all kinds of plants and flowers exude their unique smell. Hopkins stood on the porch for a moment, letting Sasha run past his memory with his chubby little arms waving—now Sasha sat on a chaise longue in the middle of the courtyard, the chaise longue was laid flat, the child resting his neck on the head of the chaise longue, his wet little head suspended in the air; Mr. Hopkins had already washed his hair with alkaline soap to remove the oil and dust that had adhered to his hair, making the next steps easier and faster...... Ever since he left that damn place, Hopkins had dyed Sasha's striking bright blonde curls bright brown, a color that was also beautiful, but very soft and universal, not as dazzling as the former that would impress everyone who met him and make it unforgettable.

Hopkins was not at all interested in the usual hair dye drugs found in supermarkets and hair stores, which were mainly made of chemical venoms and preservatives.

He got pounds of high-quality coffee that had been darkly roasted, ground them into powder, and steamed them by siphon to extract a dark brown and golden solution...... You see, the stubbornness of coffee has caused headaches for tens of millions of people, no matter what it is, teeth, leather, cloth, plastic...... As long as you get it, you can basically be declared dead or wear such an irregular dark patch for life (if you don't mind), and human hair is no exception.

Coffee that had been left lukewarm was carefully poured over Sasha's little head, and Hopkins' slender fingers penetrated the curly hair, allowing the coffee to penetrate every crevice as quickly as possible.

In the months since the father and son separated, Sasha has increased in height and lost weight, and since this quarter, Hopkins has been trying to get him back to the health he should be, but to this day, Sasha's weight has not reached the normal requirements. Hopkins stared at the child's arms clutched at either side of the chaise longue...... The child's arms are always lovely, round, fair, and tender, and the doctor's mind has almost identical arms, as well as sunshine, copper basins, and eggplants...... Snow and bloodstained stakes, a few strands of blonde hair and baby teeth falling on the black earth.

Anthony. Hopkins stopped moving, shadows loomed, and Sasha reacted quickly and blinked his eyes, which had been closed by the intense sunlight before.

After opening it completely, the child's eyes immediately reflected a pair of pocket-sized Anthony. Hopkins - these eyes are still so clear and bright, although the special purple iris is getting darker day by day, and now it even looks a little biased towards the color - the most convenient thing to hide the color of the iris is the soft recessive tinted lens, many actors and modern characters will use this method, but Sasha is too small, for the child's immature cornea, soft recessive lenses are a very dangerous thing - Anthony. Hopkins, of course, doesn't use this kind of thing for Sasha, he took inspiration from a solution used to treat glaucoma and high eye pressure (a potion that causes rapid deposition of melanin in the iris), and he extracted the part that worked for him, and the effect was excellent, but unfortunately it was not long-lasting, like the bright brown hair color dyed by coffee, which had to be replenished every few days.

In addition to these two places, the only thing that may attract the attention of others is the lightning strike mark on his body that looks like an inverted leafless tree, the ordinary lightning strike mark will disappear within twenty-four hours, but the lightning strike mark on Sasha's body will continue for several months before slowly fading, and as long as Sasha's body temperature rises, there will still be light red branch-like marks on his body - just like now, Mr. Hopkins can see that part of the skin on the edge of Sasha's cheeks is changing color, and he can almost see the shape, stripe, It's like the stripes that the Indians draw on their faces.

"Sasha?"

As the sun fell on his face, and a part of his skin was already starting to burn, Sasha paused, reached out his hand, and grabbed the gray shirt that had been warmed by the dazzling light.

"Yes, I'm here," he said softly, to his father, "I've always been there." ”

***

"Welcome to St. Thomas."

It would be convenient, Sasha thought, as his father became familiar with his future working environment, and he himself had come to familiarize himself with the future learning environment—a private church elementary school with less than 500 pupils, a total of thirty classes, no more than twenty in each class, and one teacher per class, responsible for all subjects.

Each of them has a guide, Anthony. Hopkins' guide was a third-grade teacher in the fourth class, a man between youth and middle age, with a stout physique, pale yellow hair (his forehead was a little bald, and he combed a handful of hair sideways so that it covered the exposed skin), a loud voice, a ruddy face, and fingers like maroon sausages, but generally amiable — he was also a member of the National Association of Teachers and Parents.

Sasha's guide, Anne, is much more adorable — she is in third grade, according to Hopkins' future colleagues, and is about to move on to fourth grade, that is, around ten.

The curly brown hair was combed into thick braids that hung down to the waist, a white bow with lace trim was tied at the end, the hem was wide, the dress with a small coat, the milky skin, the rosy lips, and the eyes of the same color as the hair would take on an amber golden brown in the fluorescent lamp, and they spoke like a string of triangles that constantly vibraled beautifully under a metal rod.

The children walk in front, the adults walk behind, and it's a quarter past four in the afternoon, St. Thomas's elementary school has its first class at nine in the morning and ends at three in the afternoon, and the classrooms and corridors are empty, and visitors can see, hear, and touch everything they are interested in - the cream-yellow corridor walls are hung with children's paintings, mostly of religious themes, and a half-adult-sized portrait of the Virgin Mary made of patchwork of colored cloth caught Sasha's attention, who stopped in front of the portrait and looked up to admire it carefully. Anne stood beside him, neither urging nor instigating or trying to divert the sand with anything else - a mistake that many children who have been entrusted with by adults are prone to do well, trying to do it well, but often smashing the pot because they have done too much.

The child's cloth stickers were of brilliant colors and exaggerated features, and the fabric used for the aura of the Virgin had delicate curved edges, and the shape became more and more familiar the more he looked at it, and after a few seconds, he brushed the corners of his mouth twitching away from his gaze...... It was a toilet washer, and it was cut in half...... Although its golden yellow color is beautiful, without a trace of stains and creases, it is indeed a toilet washer. Sasha stared for a moment at Mr. Humbert, who was having a good conversation with his father, still unable to determine if the man was aware of this—he turned his gaze back to the lower right corner of the portrait, where the author's name was taped with a capital Dolores.

"Dolores is my sister." The little girl was full of pride and said, "You can see her today." ”

"Ah, that's great." Sasha said he moved away from the portrait and asked Anne to walk him along a carpet of dark green dotted with flowers, one classroom next to another, with horizontal signs hanging at the door, like hotels or stations, with grades and classes, and the full names of the teachers in charge of the classes.

"Will your father's name be written here in the future?" Anne asked in a whisper, her eyes flashing with curiosity, "Will he be in charge of that class?" 3rd Grade 4? I hope it's this class, Sasha, I like you and I like your father, he looks great, and you're beautiful and smart. ”

Sasha looked at her, and for the first time realized that human beings were a difficult thing to grasp, as her father had said...... "Thank you." He replied dryly.

The little girl's smile widened, and she gently took Sasha's three fingers and led him into a classroom with Winnie the Pooh hanging at the door: "This is our classroom, but we will move next door after September." She said, walking through the orange tables and chairs with the sand, "the teaching activity area, the math area, the computer area, the reading area and the exhibition area, the washbasin, the storage cabinet, the natural science pet area, and the natural science reading and learning area (2 computers)...... A separate washroom. She walked around the classroom with Sasha, with a mixture of pride and regret in her words, and took the trouble to introduce him to everything, standing or lying, sticking or hanging, inanimate and living (the natural science pet area has small plants and turtles, hamsters and rabbits...... It's a pity that Sasha doesn't listen much at all - the third-grade classroom is too much of a precocious child, too colorful, and too lively for a precocious child who is accustomed to adult taste...... He felt a little dizzy and wanted to vomit.

"Oh...... You don't look good. Anne said solemnly, and she asked Sasha to sit down: "There is a water dispenser in the teacher's office area, you can wait a while." ”

The little girl snapped over, and the teacher's office was just a small area separated by a screen, and Anne pulled the screen, and Sasha saw the water dispenser, and saw the blackboard next to the water dispenser, and a solid dot drawn in chalk on the blackboard, and a little girl with the tip of her nose against the dot.

Anne looked a little surprised: "Dolores? ”

The author of the portrait of Our Lady of the Toilet Ring Halo, Sasha suddenly felt not so sad, his eyes widened slightly, and he couldn't take his eyes off the futuristic artist with an avant-garde approach.

Dolores was supposed to be a girl, but she was dressed like a rough boy, her skin was much darker than Anne's, and she looked a little rougher, her black hair was shorter than Sasha's, her nose was freckled, and her face was round, she was a lovely child, but because of Anne standing nearby, she naturally looked much inferior, and because of Sasha's scrutiny and awkwardness, her expression and eyes became more fierce and embarrassed than ever...... Before Sasha could turn her head, a heavy red had spread from her face to the base of her pale brown ears and collarbones.

"Get him out!" Her nose was still fixed in the chalk-covered dots, but that didn't stop her from screaming, "You're a real asshole, Annie, and you're bringing someone else to see me laughing!" ”

"I didn't know you were here...... I don't even know what you've done again!? Anne raised her voice and shouted, "Can't you be safe even for half an hour?" ”

"You know now, take that little bastard away!" The girl continued to scream, she carefully kept her body still - at least not to let her nose move: "Before I stumbled on him!" ”

***

"Of course, we prohibit corporal punishment of students here," said Mr. Humbert, with his two thumbs tucked into his trouser pockets, "but you can make them stand and the children may be chatting and arguing or fighting during class or extracurricular activities, or they may not listen to you, and then you have that right, you can let them develop during playtime, you know?" Others play, and they can only ''Standonthewall', watching others play, and they can't move......" He winked at Hopkins: "Have you ever been a teacher before?" If you've done it, you'll understand that we have posture requirements here. He took two steps and stood on the side of the wall, his heels next to the wooden baseboard: "Look, this can be called onthewall, any other posture is not good, it is not qualified." ”

"Very vivid." Anthony. Hopkins agrees: "Apictureonthewall, yes, cute, maybe in the beginning, teachers hung children on the wall." ”

Humbert imagined in his mind a row of mischievous children hanging neatly on the wall...... "Wow, that's wonderful," he said, "Maybe I should introduce this bill at the National Education Conference, and we can prepare a couple of special overalls and a solid wall, and a dozen strong hooks." He raised a thick, short eyebrow at Hopkins, making sure he didn't see a look of disapproval in those dark gray-blue eyes, "Yes, Mr. Striff," he shrugged, "Corporal punishment is prohibited in the 19th district, but corporal punishment is still allowed in more than half of the country today, and I am a member of the 19th district, and I must follow the education laws of my district, but I am in favor of corporal punishment in moderation." ”

"Spanking with a short wooden paddle, as was often done by nineteenth-century husbands to their disobedient wives."

"It is true, and the Tifathai that is now accepted is half of it, but I think the whip is better, as Rousseau writes in the admonition of Emile: 'A little girl wanted a pink ribbon and they tied her with a white ribbon, and she made a great fuss.'" Mr. Humbert recited with relish.

Dad heard it in the living room

Caroline was making a loud noise,

So he immediately ran to her,

Whip her without hesitation.

Also, when Mr. Fairchild saw his children quarreling, he struck them with a cane while reciting the verse "Let the dogs bark and bite merrily." "You can't deny it all, the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act, the Adoption Funding and Child Welfare Act, the Child Online Protection Act," he repeated contentedly...... Now that there are so many laws that allow children to do whatever they want, they are becoming arrogant, selfish, and arrogant...... It doesn't bode well for you to constantly use your own cleverness against their educators and caregivers, Mr. Steve, and I suppose you can be harsh, at least with us, and as one of those in charge here, I can assure you that you have that right—occasionally, and I think parents will understand. ”

"Isn't it okay to take them to hell?"

“…… What the? Mr. Humbert seemed to fail to comprehend what he was hearing for a moment, and he blinked for a minute before he laughed less heartily: "Excellent sense of humor, sir, you have quite a good joke - you mean what Mr. Fairchild is doing later?" He took the two boys to see a string of corpses hanging from the gallows in chains. The chains rattled in the wind, and the boy was frightened and begged to take him home. But Mr. Fairchild forced him to look at it for a long time, saying that the sight was indicative of the fate of those with bad intentions. The boy was destined to be a priest, so he had to be taught to vividly describe the horrors of those who had been condemned to hell. Yes, yes, I don't deny that this form of punishment is very suitable for children who are recalcitrant and willful...... But now, my dear, you may not be able to apply for a death penalty permit - the gas chamber and the electric chair room are not natural museums, and perhaps you can take them to see the martyrs' monument - but I'm afraid they will get more excited about it...... Ha...... Ha, ha, ha......"

The exaggerated laughter came to an abrupt halt as Hopkins pondered, and Mr. Humbert coughed: "Anyway, we prohibit corporal punishment here. ”

"Of course, Mr. Humbert." Hopkins humbly replied, "Of course." ”

***

St. Thomas's Church Elementary School also had a form of punishment that did not act physically, and Sasha knew about it before Mr. Hopkins, because of an argument between the two girls.

St. Thomas's Church Primary School, like most schools, has a scheduled pick-up bus, with only one class.

Sometimes, if some of the children are too noisy and naughty for the teachers to bear, the teachers will leave them behind and notify their parents to pick them up – this is not a good thing for most parents, because the work in this area basically doesn't end until about half past five in the afternoon, and if the teacher tells the parents to pick up the children at four o'clock or a little earlier, the parents will have to ask the boss for leave - the problem is that no matter where they are, arriving late and leaving early will not make the boss happy...... If the parents are not happy, the parents will not be happy, and the parents will not be happy...... Of course, children will not be happy.

This is a very cunning, hidden, but extremely practical form of punishment.

It all started with a copy of the cartoons that Dolores had brought into class, well, some comics that were a little bit larger, and she and the boys were reading it during their reading time, and Mr. Humbert was very angry, and the little girl, who was the advocate and owner, was left behind - according to Anne, she stayed to stay with Dolores, and in half an hour, their parents would take the two little girls home with them - but Dolores didn't want to accept this "kindness" at all, she thought that Anne and Mr. Humbert were together, Anne just wanted to see her hilarious...... Now she has added another good thing, introducing new students to schools, which she used to do!

Damn Hippo Humbot! Dolores was so indignant that he even made her stand with chalk dots in order not to disturb her future classmates and teachers!

She hates them! Hate Annie, hate Humbert, hate the new little idiot! Hate teachers! Hate boys! I hate girls too! I hate that dog who always pees under the mailbox!

Hate everything!

The little girl's screams resounded throughout the campus.

***

"How's the school?"

On the way home, Hopkins asked.

"More than I could have imagined." Sasha said, "What do you think? ”

"No worse than the State Baltimore Hospital for the Mentally Ill." The ghoul said so.

(To be continued)

Two chapters in one.